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Author /Alistair Merryman

All the vampires walkin’ through the valley
Move west down Ventura Blvd.
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
And the good girls are home with broken hearts

And I’m free, I’m free fallin’

Yes, I said it. Call me crazy…but don’t call me if you’re doing something shady in crypto. Here’s the problem I have as someone genuinely interested in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. It’s full of scams and outright bullshit that mostly gains traction because of a lack of knowledge. It really takes time and research to understand the why behind the what of crypto. If you haven’t spent the time to do that research you’ll either wind up shipwrecked or wrecking ships.

My journey into the world of Blockchain has been fascinating and I’m eager to see it continue but not at the cost of my integrity. There are others in the space who don’t have such restrictions.

Here’s an interesting info graphic, it’s a post mortem on all of the activity from 2017 in the ICO space:

With a landscape like this I knew I’d find some shady stuff. I just didn’t think it would knock on my front door. It’s ok I tendered my resignation just in time. Now I’m free fallin’ but at least I live in California 🙂

2018 World Blockchain Conference – Rome (they called me an expert)

It’s taken a lifetime but I’ve found my calling. When I was a kid I locked my Art Teacher in the art supply room during class. I left him in there for several minutes even fending off other kids in class who wanted to let him out. I never liked that art teacher.

I’ve always been disruptive and for most of my life it’s gotten me in trouble. I’m sure that will continue to be the case. However, I’m finding that one of my greatest weaknesses was actually a strength all along waiting for the right time and place.

Disruption is a necessary part of innovation. Technologists understand that disruption pays dividends and that’s why VC’s clamor for early rounds in the next Uber, PayPal, Amazon, Tesla, etc.

Now we’re entering a time when the next wave of disruption has a chance to actually change the world and make it better for the little guy. Unlike Uber who took a win/win and made it a win/lose. My hope is that blockchain and cryptocurrency projects will take notes from previous eras of technological innovation and the disruption that inevitably follows, and be better. This was Satoshi’s vision of the future and we should strive to achieve a better outcome for a planet rapidly changing, a population exponentially growing, and a financial system woefully inept at servicing the needs of everyone in just, transparent, and equitable ways.

It’s time to lock the art teacher away and let the kids reimagine the world. I’m willing to do the work to make way for that even if it means I have to disrupt class itself. My resume goes way back in that regard.

The Brutes are Coming

I’ve been thinking about this existential question Shakespeare first penned for the mouth of Hamlet. I wonder sometimes–as I listen to and read proposals for the “Will be’s” of blockchain–how many of these ideas are simply words on a page spoken to empty skulls?

I’m an ascerbic thinker. It’s what I do. Crypto has given me plenty of opportunity to exercise this tone. Am I proud of that? Nah…but I do enjoy it.

If you take a look at the actors on this stage you’ll find some amazing people. That’s why I’m here. It’s people who are leading with thoughtfulness that I’m drawn to.

Rob Viglione is one of those people. He leads ZenCash. Here’s a great talk he gave in March. Some people are worth paying attention to and ZenCash, Rob, and Co. are worth noting. Put this into your skull–especially if it’s numb.

Even drink napkins speak to me about Crypto (I need a Therapist)

Last year in October (2017) CryptoKitties exploded onto the Ethereum MainNet. The viral success of the blockchain game that breeds digital kittens almost crippled the network. It’s been written about a ton already so I won’t retell the story here. After all I want to talk about Zombies.

Here’s a link to a good write up on how the Ethereum Community addressed the crisis.

As I’ve said before Scalability continues to be one of the main areas of focus for developers and entrepreneurs in 2018. The blockchain is good for many things but throughput is not one of them.

Enter Zombies. Loom Network’s ZombieChain (article here) is one offering tackling the scalability issue in hopes that the next CryptoKitties doesn’t end the world.

I don’t know, some people really hate @realDonaldTrump. Time will tell I suppose; Casper is on the way and Plasma and sharding and DAGS and, and, …n. Makes me think of this SuperLotto sign in front of the San Diego Convention Center. (Seriously, I need a Therapist)

Today I’m in San Diego for a cryptocurrency conference.The weather is beautiful outside it’s a perfect day.There are people here from all over the world.Just had lunch.

My pockets are stuffed with business cards.I hate business cards.As I write this I’m listening to someone to my left talk about how they “pivoted” their business and created a token for runners…”kinda like Sonic the Hedge Hog”.I love crypto.

The presenter is having problems with the audio.It’s an awkward Friday afternoon. I’m loving it!

Aligned Incentives

Why Blockchain?It’s a simple question and sometimes I wonder how many people in this room and in crypto have taken the time to really ask it.I’m asking it right now.

The project I’m working on is noble.There are big ambitions which is why it’s worth my time.I’m a sucker for Noble and Ambitious.However, I’m also a realist.

Millennials are some of my favorite people.I love their hope and willingness to rethink the world.Technology is like the Marijuana and Free Love of this generation.

EarthCycle.io just dropped their video.I wonder if they’ve spent as much time on their pitch and multimedia (which is impressive) as they have on the fundamentals of their business model and technology.(Why blockchain?).

Anyway, back to Aligned Incentives.Perhaps one of the strongest cases for Why Blockchain?Is aligned incentives.

People are selfish.We all want what we want.I like beer for instance.I really don’t care about the environment if I’m honest.Sorry.I’m not proud of that…just being honest for the sake of this point.

Aligned Incentives means that if EarthCycle.io figured out a way to get me my favorite craft beer like dollar shave club figured out razors, I’d be all about EarthCycle Coin…because I like beer, and they also had a cool video, but it would be more about the beer.

The power of aligning incentives on the blockchain is simple. It means that an Irish jerk like me (think younger less angry Archie Bunker) with more regard for the stout at lunch than the beautiful blue sky hanging over this auditorium, could have joined the noble ambitions of EarthCycle.io to preserve that beauty for generations, if they’d only figured out how to get me that Stout at a discount and maybe also add drone delivery…also let’s make it on demand like Uber.

What can I say? I want the world to know I love Charles Hoskinson. Here’s Chuck and Rob Viglione of ZenCash chatting about their collaboration and the implementation of IOHK’s Treasury Framework into ZenCash.